Rarely does a gardener miss the opportunity to grow an exotic plant at home. It doesn’t matter if it’s medicinal, decorative or fruit. For example, few summer residents will miss the opportunity to grow an avocado or alligator pear, even from a seed.

Peculiarities

In addition to the usual name, the fruit is known as American Persea and Agacata. This is an evergreen tree of the Laurel family, the fruits of which are distinguished by their oiliness and pleasant aroma. The avocado seed is quite large. Its weight is approximately half the weight of a ripe fruit. The pulp is rich in vitamins and minerals. This explains the demand for the fruit: it maintains youth.

A distinctive feature of proper avocado cultivation is the right choice of fruit. In most cases, avocados are imported into Russia unripe, so choosing good seed material will not be easy. Many gardeners try to solve this problem by ripening the fruit on the windowsill. In fact, this method is ineffective: unripe seeds have low germination, just like overripe ones.

Not every fruit is worth buying. Externally, the unripe fruit is light green in color, it is hard and unsuitable for consumption. A rich green tone indicates that the fruit is almost ready to eat, but the seed is not yet ready for planting. Avocados that are dark green and fade to brown are edible. When you press on it with your finger, a dent remains, which later disappears. However, its seed is not suitable for cultivation.

Good seed material can be selected based on external indicators. A fruit with a ripe seed has a dark color, closer to black. An overripe avocado like this is not suitable for eating. Externally, this fruit is very soft, its pulp is loose. As a rule, the area under the stem of such a fruit is brown, while that of a ripe avocado is green with brownish veins. If it is yellow, it is useless to buy such material for sowing.

The time for planting avocado seeds at home may vary. This is due to the constant temperature conditions of the room. For planting, it is better to choose large seeds, and you can buy several fruits at once to increase the germination rate of the seeds: not every seed will be able to take root. The kernels can be oblong or round. The color of the peeled seeds is beige-sand. However, in any case, one of the sides will be wider than the other, which will allow you to find the right part to fit.

In most cases, it is the choice of seed that determines whether a crop or an ornamental plant will be grown. It is worth considering the fact that such a tree rarely blooms and bears fruit at home. Therefore, creating the necessary conditions for germination and growth is imperative. It is important to think about the place for growing, because the tree must be free. He may need space from 1 to 2.5 m in height.

Landing

Growing an avocado from a seed is not an easy process. However, if the basic planting factors are observed, this becomes possible.

Seed preparation

The seed's skin is strong. You should initially germinate the seed and then plant it in the soil. It is carefully pulled out of the fruit, trying not to damage the future seed. To do this, use a knife to make a deep circular cut along the larger side of the avocado. It is necessary not to press too hard with the sharp side of the blade so as not to damage the seed. When the fruit is cut into two halves with a pit in one of them, they are turned opposite each other. They pry her with a knife.

Soil selection

The soil for growing avocados at home should be loose and well aerated. It must pass water well, which is inherent, for example, in the turf or peat version. To prepare the soil according to all the rules, you should mix humus or leaf soil with sand and dolomite flour in equal parts. If dolomite flour is not available, it can be replaced with ground shells of boiled chicken eggs.

To increase aeration, it is worth adding perlite or vermiculite to the soil. Since avocados do not tolerate acidic soils, you can add a pinch of lime to the mixture.

Before planting, it is necessary to moisten the soil.

Nutrient soil can be composed of the following components:

• garden soil - 2 parts;
• medium grain sand – 2 parts;
• humus - 2 parts;
• expanded clay, crushed polystyrene foam or sphagnum moss - 0.5 parts;
• lime - 1-2 tbsp. spoons.

At the beginning of growing a tree, it is enough to create drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. When the avocado needs to be transplanted into a spacious container, you need to place broken bricks or shards at the bottom of the larger pot.

How to germinate bone?

On average, it can take from 1 to 3 months to germinate a tropical tree seed, depending on the conditions created and the method of germination. You can plant a seed in three ways, such as:

• immediately after removal from the fruit into the ground;
• on spacers;
• cleaned and placed in water.

Each method has its own nuances. For example, the first method, called closed or conventional, involves sticking the seed into the soil with the wide underside (blunt end) to a shallow depth. Usually it is enough to deepen the seed into the ground by 2 cm. You can expect seedlings to appear in about 30–40 days. Throughout the entire period, you need to water the plant as needed. Watering should be moderate. If the soil is wet, the seed will rot.

However, the second method of germination allows you to get the long-awaited shoots faster. If you want to speed up the process of sprouting, the unpeeled avocado bone should be pierced with wooden toothpicks (3-4 pieces) or matches without sulfur heads approximately 3 mm deep. Then take a glass glass, fill it with clean water at room temperature and place the seed in it with the blunt side down.

Toothpicks are needed to ensure that the bone is only partially immersed in water. They hold the upper part of the previously washed seed on the surface. For the method to be effective, you will have to monitor the water level in the container all the time, since the lower part of the seed must constantly be in water.

The third method is the most effective, since it removes the hard shell from the bone. After this, it is placed in water with a blunt end about 2/3 of the entire size and the position is strengthened. The cleaned seed germinates faster. It can be replanted into the ground when the root of the sprout reaches 3 cm in length. This method allows you to leave all the signs of the mother plant.

The method of germinating seeds in a suspended state is convenient because the gardener has the opportunity to observe the appearance and growth of roots. The water becomes cloudy over time, so it needs to be changed every 3-4 days, although some gardeners do this more often. At the same time, it is important to ensure that the roots that appear after cracking the kernels do not dry out.

If you do not add water, covering the core by 1/3, the plant will die. Gardeners have conflicting opinions regarding the effectiveness of different germination methods. For example, on the World Wide Web you can find a lot of comments indicating that germination on spacers is more effective than simply immersing the seed in water. They note that young roots are too delicate and can be damaged during growth and changes in water. First they will appear, and then a crack will form in the seed, from which the first sprout will appear.

How to plant correctly?

It is not enough to simply press the seed into the ground with the desired end and water to maintain the required soil moisture. The seed coat will deteriorate slowly and slowly. Experienced gardeners try to break the shell of the seed, because it is difficult for a sprout to break through the strong crust. In order for the sprout to develop correctly, and germination does not take several months, it is important to determine the blunt end, this is where the sprout will appear.

If the seed is turned incorrectly, the sprout will first go around the seed itself and only then appear on the surface of the earth. It is important to take into account the fact that the seed with the sprout is not completely buried in the ground. It should contain approximately 1/3 (maximum 1⁄2) of it. The cracked bone with the sprout itself should be open.

Subtleties of cultivation

Initially, it is better to choose a small pot for growing avocados at home (about 10–12 cm in diameter). The optimal height of the container should be 15–20 cm. A ceramic pot for an avocado will not work: the tree grows better in a plastic container with a tray. However, drainage holes at the bottom of the cookware are mandatory.

Gardeners note that you can grow avocados from seeds in a plastic pot. The pottery itself can take moisture from the sprout. The number of drainage holes must be sufficient to drain water, otherwise the emerging sprout may rot.

Special granules can be used to improve drainage.

The first pot may be shallow. However, as it grows, it is worth taking care of a larger container, as the root system will increase in size. The seed is not always immersed in the ground when the sprout appears. Some gardeners claim that roots are enough for this. In this case, the drupe is carefully removed from the water or spacers, then the roots are immersed in the soil, being careful not to damage them.

Being a tropical tree, avocados do not tolerate sun activity well. Direct UV rays will have a detrimental effect on the sprouts. The best window sill will be the one whose windows are located on the east or west side of the house. On particularly sunny days, it is advisable to shade the plant or move it deeper into the room. The indoor climate should be warm and humid.

The average air temperature should be +16ºС. The lighting of the tree should be sufficient, but diffused, for example, through tulle. A sign of correctly created and favorable conditions will be the rapid growth of a young tree. After reaching a height of approximately 35 cm, the plant will begin to rapidly grow leaves. A change in their color will indicate illness or improper care.

How to get the fruits?

Planting an avocado seed is half the battle. There are frequent cases when the tree has reached the required height (2 m), but does not bear fruit. In this case, the best solution is to graft the shoot. In addition, you can increase the pinching. One of the reasons is the lack of cross-pollination, which is unusual for growing avocados at home. Therefore, to obtain fruits, you will have to pollinate the plant yourself by hand when it blooms.

Typically, flowers with a characteristic yellow-green tint appear on the tree in the third year of life. Since the tree bears fruit only when pollinated, it is important to take into account an interesting nuance. Each of its flowers is bisexual and opens twice. Moreover, on the first day the pistils are active. As soon as the flowers open, you need to mark them so that the marked flower stalks can be pollinated the next day. To do this, pollen is transferred to the pistils. The fruits that can be obtained by growing a tropical tree at home differ in taste from those purchased in the store. You can grow them, although the fruits will be smaller in size.

How to speed up maturation?

Over time, the tree's growth slows down. In this case, the composition of the soil is of great importance. When the plant is pulled out excessively, the soil is quickly depleted, which can cause the growth of the tree and fruit to slow down. If you oversaturate the soil, it will not give a positive result. The growth will be great, but this will not affect the ripening of the fruit. To correct this, you need to provide the tree with macro- and microelements in the required quantities.

It is worth paying attention to care. For example, in the spring it is worth feeding the tree twice a month. If the plant looks good and does not turn yellow or black, the feeding has done it good. However, in the cold season, when growth is passive, you should not increase the frequency of soil fertilization. It is also undesirable when the fruits are already ripening.

With a lack of light, the internodes will stretch. You can speed up the ripening of fruits if you take the tree to the dacha in the summer and place it under the crowns of other trees. At the same time, it will be provided with the necessary amount of light, but it will not be direct. This way you can achieve fruiting of an avocado already in the third year after planting the seed. You should not place avocados near electric heaters or stoves, thinking that this way the fruit ripens better: this can cause burns to the plant.

Fruits can only ripen naturally when a natural environment for a tropical tree is created. It is worth paying attention to the amount of diffused light, replenishing it with artificial lamps.

How to care?

To make the tree lush and branchy, it is necessary to pinch the ends of the stems. After the avocado has grown to a length of 15–17 cm, its stem should be cut by about half, leaving 8 cm from the ground. This will stimulate new growth and branching. You can do this after the tree has 8 leaves. Next, the crown is formed from side branches. To do this, monitor the number of leaves on the new shoot. As soon as there are 5 or 7 of them, you can pinch them off again.

For formation, you can also focus on the length of the shoots. When the avocado grows back to 15 cm after the first pinching, it should be transplanted into a larger pot (about 20–25 cm). The soil should be rich in humus. You need to pinch the tree every time it grows 6 inches (about 15 cm). Such care will allow it to grow lateral shoots and form a dense crown. As you grow, you need to constantly increase the container with soil. To increase fruiting, experts recommend grafting a young tree in early spring.

Immediately after planting the avocado in the substrate, it does not need fertilizer. However, this issue will become relevant in 4–6 months. Fertilizer should be applied once a month using complex formulations for indoor floriculture. Young specimens are usually replanted every spring. After the tree is 3–4 years old, it is not advisable to frequently disturb it with transplants. It is allowed to change the tub no more than once every 3 years.

Watering

Avocados should be watered sparingly. The tropical tree does not like an abundance of moisture. Yellowing leaves may indicate this. In this case, it is important to allow the moisture to dry naturally, which may take several days. You should not take for granted the one-time watering per week, which is recommended on some gardening sites, and strictly follow this rule.

In fact, the frequency of watering will depend on the degree of humidity inside the room. Avocados need regular spraying, while drying out the soil is detrimental to them.

If the air in the room is dry, spraying may cause the tree to burn. You can solve this problem by installing a humidifier in the room.

What to do if the leaves turn black and dry?

Avocado leaves indicate that you need to reconsider your growing conditions. For example, their redness indicates the burning sun and the need to remove them from direct sunlight. If the leaves dry around the edges, this indicates that the climate in the room is dry, so you need to humidify the tree and the air. Stagnation of moisture will be noticeable by the yellowish color of the leaves along the edges. A healthy leaf color is a rich green.

Sometimes a tree can even shed its leaves if it doesn’t like the cold climate. As soon as the desired temperature is restored, leaves will appear on the branches again. The blackening of the leaves is a reaction of their combustion. These are burns, the first stage of the tree's reaction to spraying in a dry room. You cannot continue to spray the tree, as in such conditions the avocado trunk will begin to stiffen and turn black.

How to transplant?

The procedure for transplanting an avocado into a larger pot does not differ from the standard scheme. The plant is removed from the container, being careful not to damage the root system. After this, the tree is placed in a prepared container with soil and drainage. The container can be different, even hanging if the tree is still small. The holes at the bottom of the pot should be large so that no moisture remains in the container. The drainage layer at the bottom of the pot can be about 2 cm thick.

Pallets are taken with a margin around the edges, filling them with expanded clay or pebbles, which will help maintain the required humidity for the plant. Do not use heavy or clayey soil for planting. If garden soil is used for this, it will first have to be disinfected by watering it with boiling water a day before planting the germinated seed. Plant the seed with the sprout up, leaving 2/3 of the volume above the soil. If it is completely immersed in the ground, the tree will rot.

Avocado is a heat-loving plant; it is impossible to achieve fruiting at home, but as an ornamental tree this crop can decorate any room. As with all tropical crops, the indoor avocado plant requires plenty of light, regular watering during the growing season and shaping pruning to give the bush a neat appearance.

What does an avocado plant and its fruits look like (with photo)

Avocado (Persea, adligator pear, Persea) belongs to the Laurel family, it is a relative of the laurel.

The plant is distributed in North and South America, on the Canary Islands. Large evergreen tree. Avocados were cultivated in Central America as early as the 6th–8th centuries. But avocados came to Europe only in the 16th century. Now it is bred in many warm countries: Argentina, Brazil, USA.

The tree has dark green, varnished leaves.

Pay attention to the photo - the avocado fruit looks like a large pear:

Their color is varied - from green to purple. These fruits have received another name: “crocodile pear”. They are edible and very nutritious. Their yellowish-green flesh contains a lot of fat and tastes somewhat like butter. But she is “fresh”. There is no sweetness or acidity in the fruits. They have no smell either. These are more vegetables than fruits. No wonder they are usually eaten raw with pepper, vinegar and onions. Most often, avocado fruits are used to prepare a salad, sometimes they are also used in the form of puree, and even ice cream is made from them (with the addition of sugar and some other substances).

In Mexico, Central and partly South America, avocados are one of the most common food products. Avocado is an ancient cultivated plant. Even before the discovery of America, it was cultivated by the local populations of Central America and the West Indies for many centuries.

Leaves are up to 25 cm long, dark green, glossy.

As you can see in the photo, the flowers of the avocado plant are yellowish, collected in racemes:

The fruit is a large drupe, 10-15 cm long. The color of the fruit is dark green. The seeds are large - about 4.5-5.5 cm.

Avocado can reach a height of 20 m, but it is a very fragile tree, so it needs special care during fruiting. It has long leathery leaves, similar to laurel leaves, and fairly large fruits weighing up to 800 g. Avocado roots are very sensitive to lack of air in the soil. Avocados bloom in late winter. In culture, flowering is rare

Avocados begin to bear fruit at 4-5 years of age. From each tree you can collect 150–200 fruits. Some varieties have a rough skin that looks like alligator skin (hence the second name). Inside the fruit is a yellow-green poisonous seed.

Look what an avocado plant looks like in these photos:

Types and varieties. The most popular: A. American (R. atepsapa), A. most pleasant (P. gratissima).

Usage. In winter gardens, for food purposes.

How to care for a houseplant avocado at home

Avocado is a rather heat-loving plant. Its frost resistance is low. In this respect, it is equivalent to an orange and a lemon. Therefore, it can be successfully grown only in the warmest areas of our humid subtropics - where citrus fruits are grown.

The plant is light-loving, but in the summer it is afraid of direct sunlight.

When growing an avocado tree at home, it is placed in a well-lit, sunny, warm place. Avocado is a heat-loving plant, so even in summer, if the weather is not very hot, it is better to keep it indoors. During the dormant period, the plant is transferred to a bright room with a temperature of at least 15 °C.

The shoots are pinched to give the tree a bushy shape. Watering is plentiful, moderate in winter. In summer, avocados are watered abundantly, additionally cross-pollinated and fertilized two to three times a month. You need to care for your avocado plant at home as carefully as possible. In winter it is significantly reduced and no fertilizing is carried out. After winter rest during care when growing avocados, the plant is replanted and the ends of the stems are pinched. A commercially available universal flower soil can serve as a substrate for avocados.

Plants up to 3-4 years old are replanted annually, then once every 3-4 years.

Avocados are susceptible to attack by spider mites and scale insects. Insufficient air humidity causes the tips of the leaves to dry out.

Propagation of homemade avocado by seed and cuttings

Seeds and cuttings. Avocados have very large seeds. Seeds for germination are planted one at a time in pots with soil mixture.

When sowing, the seeds should protrude halfway from the soil. When propagating an avocado, the pit is planted with the blunt end in the ground, and the sharp end is left sticking out above the soil surface. Until the leaves appear, the pot with the plant is kept in a warm place and watered occasionally, preventing the earthen ball from drying out.

Avocado seeds should not be germinated in water, as they do not tolerate transplantation well.

Cuttings take root very poorly, so it is better to treat them with a growth stimulator.

What are the benefits of the fruit of the avocado plant?

The vegetable fat of this tropical fruit consists mainly of monounsaturated fatty acids, which lower cholesterol levels and have a beneficial effect on the heart and blood vessels.

100% natural vegetable avocado oil, obtained by cold pressing. The product is a yellowish oily liquid with a characteristic aroma. What are the benefits of avocado oil? The oil is rich in lecithin, histidine, polyunsaturated acids (oleic - up to 82%, palmitic, linoleic, etc.), vitamins A, E, C, B1, B2, B3, B9, D, as well as phytosterols, phosphoric acid salts, and microelements. Avocado oil has good penetrating ability, has regenerating, moisturizing, improving skin structure properties and the ability to reflect UV radiation.

Over the past few decades, many exotic plants have entered the lives of domestic people. However, even in relation to the most common of them, our knowledge remains very meager and limited.

At the same time, an accurate idea of, for example, avocado is valuable not only for gardeners and gardeners who love experiments. Ordinary consumers also need this knowledge.

What it is?

Avocado is a fruit that is grown in tropical and subtropical climate regions. The main plantations of this crop are located in Indonesia.

Russian climatic conditions do not make it possible to industrially cultivate avocados, so all deliveries are made from abroad and cost a lot of money.

A few decades ago, this fruit was allegorically called “alligator pear.” This name was given due to the characteristic rough and dark green skin of the fruit, as well as its shape, similar to that of a pear.

Avocados grow on evergreen trees and have a large seed inside. However, chemical analysis shows that this fruit is closer to vegetables, since there is very little sugar in the pulp, and the energy value is quite high. The taste is rather faded and not exciting. Such properties make it possible to use avocado as a component in various salads and other combined dishes.

The fruit contains many valuable microelements and organic substances:

• calcium;
• iron;
• phosphorus;
• cellulose;
• various amino acids.

The dietary properties of this culture are combined with its ability to have a preventive effect against many common diseases (primarily cardiovascular diseases and cancer disorders). According to doctors, eating avocado is very useful for digestive disorders.

The fruit also improves the body’s water supply, but for this reason it is contraindicated for anyone who suffers from water-salt imbalance. It is not advisable for allergy sufferers to use it: there is some specific intolerance.

Origin

Avocado grows on a tall tree (reaching 20 meters). Botanists consider this culture close to the noble laurel, which was abundantly cultivated by the ancient Greeks. For the first time, avocado culture began to be cultivated en masse in Israel, so this country can be considered its second homeland.

Initially, it comes from North America, more precisely, from the territory of modern Mexico. Both the Aztecs and our contemporaries living there do not neglect this culture. It has become an integral part of Caribbean cuisine.

The first description of avocados was given by Spanish invaders back in 1526. Colonizers compared the fruit to a peeled chestnut. Based on the results of archaeological excavations, it was possible to establish that avocados were known back in the 8th century AD. If we start from ancient drawings, then it can be considered proven that this fruit grew 7 - 10 thousand years ago in the gardens of the distant ancestors of the Aztecs. It was possible to find out that even then the seeds of cultivated plants were larger than in the wild.

Linguists believe that the word “avocado” comes from the Aztec language Nahuatl, the literal translation is “egg tree”. Apparently, these are the associations that arose among the ancient Indians.

The main exports of avocados are now from countries such as the USA, Chile, Dominican Republic and Indonesia. The ancestral home of avocados is Mexico.

What does the tree look like?

In nature, the avocado (or Persea americana) is the only edible representative of its botanical genus, which is part of the laurel family.

The height of an adult tree reaches 6 meters, it has a wide crown. Despite the fact that the plant is an evergreen species, there are varieties that shed leaves (albeit for a very short time). The diameter of the trunk after the end of the growth period varies from 0.3 m to 0.6 m.

At the bottom the trunks are straight, closer to the top they branch. The foliage is sharp, elliptical in shape. It is dark green on top and whitish on the bottom edge. Mexican varieties can be recognized by their characteristic anise aroma. The avocado leaf is very rich in essential oils, however, they also contain substances harmful to human health.

The flowers are small, inconspicuous in appearance. The predominant color is pale green or yellow-green. The inflorescence is a panicle type. Most flowers have 1 pistil with a pair of cups containing 9 stamens. Flowering occurs profusely, however, complicated pollination leads to the fact that only 4% of flowers develop an ovary.

During the flowering season, the opening occurs twice. Avocados can be cultivated in several varieties at once. The avocado fruit is considered a type of pear-shaped drupe berry. The length can be up to 330 mm and the width up to 150 mm. Weight varies over a fairly wide range: from 50 g to 1.8 kg.

You can find avocados with skin of four shades:

• dark green;
• yellow-green;
• red-violet;
• dark purple.

The edible pulp begins immediately under the skin. Following it is a single seed, growing in the shape of a circle, egg or cone. If pollination was poor (or due to other reasons), some of the berries may not contain seeds.

The root system of this unusual plant allows it to grow successfully in a variety of soil types. Good results are achieved on red clay and sand, limestone and loam of volcanic origin.

A prerequisite for successful avocado cultivation is good drainage. Excessive moisture, even if it does not reach a temporary flood, is contraindicated. There should be at least 9 meters of soil between the surface and the water horizon.

The fruits ripen in 0.5 - 1.5 years (the exact period is determined by the climatic conditions of the growing region and the variety). Final ripening occurs only after separation from the stalk (in 7 - 14 days at room temperature).

Features of growth

The plant has a number of growth characteristics that must be taken into account.

Under what conditions?

Avocado grows in tropical and subtropical climates, but there are certain differences between its groups.

• So, Mexican selection of varieties most resistant to bad weather. It will be able to withstand short-term frosts of 4 to 6 degrees. Wherever oranges ripen, avocado plants from Mexico will also produce a good harvest.
• West Indian group of varieties dies even from the slightest frost. There is simply no chance of growing them in the Russian Federation (outside of a year-round heated greenhouse).

Avocados tolerate shade well, but all development goes into the crown. Fruiting is possible only in open areas of land with intense insolation. Loose soil with deep drainage is a must, but the acidity or alkalinity of the soil is not particularly important for growth.

A prerequisite for successful avocado cultivation is loosening the root ball for effective aeration. The American “guest” feels bad if strong winds blow. In dry air, the pollination process is disrupted and the harvest is reduced. Persea should not be overfed with fertilizers.

The less mineral salts in the water that is used to water the tree, the higher the yield.

In what countries?

Traditional areas for avocado cultivation: Southeast Asia, Australia, Peru, Philippines, countries of Central and South America. In Malaysia and Thailand, the exotic tree grows easily and confidently. In Russia, it can be grown exclusively on the Black Sea shores (only representatives of the Mexican group of varieties are suitable for cultivation). Abkhazian conditions are also favorable: fruits with a high concentration of oils are obtained here.

The choice between direct soil and container planting methods is determined by the climate of a particular region. If in winter there is at least a slight risk of frost of -7 degrees or more, then you need to use containers. During the cold season, it is necessary to transfer the plant to greenhouses or heated rooms. Therefore, you have to use dwarf varieties or systematically prune trees. The high growth rate of avocados necessitates its regular replanting.

At later stages of development, the largest pot no longer copes with its task. You need a barrel or some other large container. It is recommended to use containers on wheels, which are easier to move.

Note: avocado branches need special support. It will help avoid deformation of young shoots of the plant. Watering is required only during drought. When there is sufficient natural precipitation, there is no need for special soil moisture. The dryness of the soil is monitored at a depth of up to 0.25 m. Dry soil that crumbles when pricked with a stick should be watered immediately.

Fertilizing is carried out once a quarter; for this purpose, mineral and complex fertilizers, and special mixtures are used. Mature trees require nitrogen input at the end of winter and in the first days of summer, as well as annual addition of microelements.

If in nature the variety forms a cone-shaped crown, then its pruning is aimed at rounding the contour. Mature plants should not be pruned.

Before the onset of frost, each fruit should be picked (regardless of the degree of ripeness). The thing is that when cooled, the fruits will turn black and become unsuitable for food. Young avocados should be protected from frost with special covering materials. If the plant is grown in a greenhouse, then it is worth taking care of additional heating and insulating the trunks with foam rubber.

For amateur gardeners, it will be easiest to grow avocados using a seed. There is no need to buy sprouted seeds in a special store, since embryos from purchased fruits also give good results. You just need to make sure that the avocado is ripe and use the seed for planting immediately. It is recommended to plant the seed directly into the ground, since this crop tolerates replanting without much enthusiasm.

Season

Avocados bloom almost all year round (and on any continent of the globe). But, according to experts, the most delicious fruits ripen from the beginning of August to the end of April.

California avocados are available throughout the year, but Florida avocados are available only from fall to spring. Israeli fruit is available from late autumn to early winter. This is when the bulk of avocados appear on Russian store shelves.

Only hard fruits are selected for commercial shipment. And to check the maturity of the fruit by the consumer, agronomists recommend focusing on the condition of the stalk: in a ripe fruit it disappears or becomes darker.

The bone is not suitable for human consumption; it is not only tasteless, but can also be hazardous to health.

To learn how to grow an avocado from a seed at home, watch the following video.

An unusual pear-shaped fruit for Russians called avocado is exported to us from tropical South American and African countries. Its rough, pimply green peel resembles crocodile skin, hence the second name - alligator pear. The avocado tree bears fruit only in hot climates. Fruits with yellow-green oily pulp have a high fat content and contain many useful substances. Is it possible to grow avocados here?

Features of growing avocados in Central Russia

Evergreen avocado (Persea americana, forest oil, egg tree) cannot be counted among the common crops in our country. Successful cultivation in open ground is possible only in the humid subtropics of the Russian Black Sea coast, where summer lasts six months and there is no climatic winter at all. But even in such favorable conditions, only avocados of the Mexican race (Mexicola) survive (and bear fruit!).

For avocados, select sunny, slightly shaded areas with loose, well-drained soil rich in humus, for example, on a hillside. Seedlings are brought from the Sukhumi arboretum or purchased from local gardeners. Pollination can be successful if there are at least two avocados in the garden with different types of flowers. Single trees rarely bear fruit. In Sochi avocados, the fruits can reach a weight of 100 g, in tropical species - more than 1 kg.

In central Russia, avocados are grown only at home. But you shouldn’t expect flowering and fruit from it. Perseus can only please with a sweeping decorative crown on a one- to two-meter trunk. Ripe seeds are selected for planting.

What are the benefits of avocado?

Avocado is a hearty fruit with easily digestible, tender pulp, similar to a mixture of butter and finely chopped herbs. Its main advantage is the rich composition of fats, vitamins (E, K, PP, D, F) and minerals necessary for healthy skin, hair, cleansing of blood vessels, and lowering blood pressure. Avocado is a welcome participant in a diet for weight loss, prevention of cancer, and in nutritional value it is even ahead of meat and fish oil.

Avocados have virtually no sugars, fruit acids or carbohydrates, but they do contain substances that break down bad cholesterol in the blood. Therefore, avocados are classified as dietary foods.

Unripe fruit has no taste; when placed in the refrigerator, it becomes simply wooden. But, if you keep it in a vegetable basket for several days, the avocado will ripen and become soft with a nutty-pine flavor. Ripe avocados are used in cooking to prepare vegetable and fruit salads, sandwiches, sauces, and seafood snacks. In vegetarian cuisine, it replaces meat and eggs, and is also included in nutritious milkshakes and sweet creams.

In some countries, the unique persea is consumed as the main dish of a meal with bread and cereals, in others - as a fruit dessert or viscous drink.

Types of Avocado

Avocados are classified according to the following areas: growing conditions, type of flowering and fruiting, characteristics of the fruit and leaves. The first direction is conventionally divided into three categories or races:

• Mexican (tolerates frost down to -4°C, the period between flowering and fruiting is 1.2-1.5 years, fruits with thin skin, hardiness (relatively!) of the orange tree);
• Guatemalan (withstands temperatures down to 0°C, bears fruit a year after flowering, fruits with thick skin, “capriciousness” of the lemon tree);
• West Indian (grows only in tropical climates, flowering and fruiting occur in the same season, fruits have a thin, smooth skin).

Avocados are cross-pollinated plants, the male and female flowers of which open at different times:

• type A (women - in the morning, men - the next day);
• type B (women - after lunch, men - the next morning).

Avocado fruits are distinguished:

• in shape (oblong, pear-shaped, round, oval);
• pulp color (yellow and golden green);
• peel color (light green, purple, black);
• taste (creamy, nutty);
• sizes (from 50 g to 1.8 kg).

The peel of some remains green from conception to full maturity, while for others it gradually darkens and even turns black.

You can see the whole variety of exotic fruits at Asian food markets, some of them also go to Russian supermarkets:

• Bacon is a Mexican variety of avocado with yellowish-greenish flesh and green thin skin;
• Gwen, with golden-green flesh in a thick, pimply skin;
• Hass is a successful export product with a long shelf life, turns purple-black when ripe, and has light green flesh;
• Lamb Hass, has a nutty taste, the weight of the seed in the fruit is 15%;
• Fuerte is a winter-bearing variety, the thin peel is easily separated from the pale green pulp with a creamy consistency;
• Pinkerton is a hybrid variety with pear-shaped fruits (240-560 g) and small seeds;
• Reed is a Guatemalan type variety, round fruits in a thick green peel weighing up to 540 g;
• Zutano is a watery-tasting, pear-shaped fruit with a shiny yellow-green skin and the seed takes up a quarter of the fruit's weight.

There are about 400 varieties of avocados in total, and the work doesn't stop there. In the Russian Federation, cold-resistant varieties of the Mexican race are grown in open ground and at home (mainly in the Caucasus): Mexicola (fruits up to 100 g, ripen in September), Puebla (harvest in November-December, weight up to 200 g), Nortroy, Gunter , Fuerte hybrid.

Homemade avocado

Avocado is grown in the house as an ornamental plant for interior decoration. It is difficult to achieve flowering even with very good competent care. But fruiting occurs only in 5% of cases, and then in the third to seventh year of life. The grown fruits are inferior in taste and size to store-bought avocados, but as breeders continue to develop new varieties of egg trees, there remains hope for a versatile avocado.

Growing an avocado from a seed at home is not difficult. The rapid growth of the stem at the beginning of the operation is amazing. The plant is in no hurry to acquire side shoots. Only after it is pinched does growth slow down and a crown begins to form. Avocado leaves are wide, glossy, and can grow up to 30 cm or more in length.

Formative pruning of the top is carried out in the spring, when there are 8-10 leaves, and side shoots - after the fifth leaf. This stimulates the persea to form new growth. If, as the plant grows, it begins to shed its leaves, it means that the air in the room is too dry or the flower container is small. After replacing the pot and soil, and regular spraying, new greenery will not take long to appear.

The decorative crown of an avocado, which effectively purifies the air, can be destroyed by spider mites or lack of light. Therefore, the room is illuminated with fluorescent lamps, especially in winter, and treated with fungicides. The favorable period for replanting is the end of February, and the optimal growth of the tree is 15 cm.

When deciding to grow an avocado, you need to take into account that the leaves of the plant contain substances that can cause an allergic reaction in humans and pets.

How to grow an avocado from a seed in the garden

In its natural habitat, each avocado tree covers an area of ​​up to 6 square meters. m. with a height of 18 m and above. Gardeners grow three-meter-high indoor crops in winter gardens and greenhouses from an ordinary seed the size of a quail egg. To do this, choose a ripe, dense fruit with a dark peel and elastic pulp. Unripe avocados are brought to the desired condition in a couple of days at a temperature of 18-23°C. Simply placing apples and tomatoes nearby speeds up this process.

-how to germinate an avocado

Avocados are germinated in pots filled with a nutrient mixture of humus, garden soil and coarse sand (1:1:1). Expanded clay drainage is placed at the bottom of the container. The seed extracted from the fruit is washed and soaked for half an hour in hot water. When the bone warms up, the shell is removed from it, the tip on the narrow side is cut off and treated with an antifungal agent. The wide end of the seed is placed into the soil mixture, leaving the sharp tip above ground level.

The soil is watered and, covered with a glass cap, left in a warm (21°C) illuminated place until sprouts appear. This process can take up to 1 month or more. The strengthened seedlings are transplanted into different pots.

Another way is to grow in water. To do this, make 3-4 holes for toothpicks in the middle part of the seed, and hang the structure over a glass of water. The supports will prevent the seed from being completely submerged in water or hydrogel. The punctures should remain dry. The water in the glass is topped up or changed every 2-3 days. After 1-1.5 months, the first roots appear. The seed will be ready to be planted in the ground when the sprouts reach 4 cm.

You can germinate a seed by wrapping it in damp cotton wool and constantly wetting it. Readiness for planting is confirmed by dividing the seed into two halves. The seed is planted in a pot and wait for sprouts to appear. The germination procedure can take up to six months. All this time, the soil is kept moist and fed with mineral fertilizers in the spring and summer.

-how to plant an avocado

Avocado seedlings with a closed root system are planted in open ground in the spring, when the ground warms up. Rooting can also be done by cuttings, but the survival rate is low (25%). Humus (40 cm layer) is poured into the trench and trampled down. Every 1.5 meters, seedlings with an earthen lump are placed on earthen hills (35-40 cm). The space is filled with nutritious soil.

Every spring, the seedlings are trimmed so that they do not protrude from the trench and covered with polycarbonate. At the end of autumn, the light “roof” is removed and a more serious protection is built - from boards, a thick layer of earth, dry leaves and straw. In the spring (late April) the polycarbonate is returned to its place. If you are lucky with the weather and the care is correct, the fruits of the Mexican avocado may appear in 5-7 years.

The best results are obtained by simultaneous planting of seedlings belonging to group A (variety Caliente, Puebla, Collinson) and B (Fuerte, Mexicola, Northrop, Gunter).

-Avocado care

When caring for avocados in open ground, we must not forget:

• mulch the soil in tree trunk circles;
• water abundantly during the growing season, moderately in autumn and winter;
• feed the seedlings every 2-3 weeks during the growth period (60 g of complex fertilizers per 1 sq. m) with an interval of 2-2.5 months;
• feed mature trees in spring (100 g of nitrogen per 1 sq. m) and autumn (100 g of potassium and phosphorus per 1 sq. m);
• thin out the crown when thickened, remove weak and dying branches;
• prune in spring when the danger of frost has passed;
• cover the plant for the winter with non-woven material or plastic film.

If climatic conditions for avocados are unfavorable, it makes sense to grow them in a container and transfer them to a heated warehouse or greenhouse at the right time. Dwarf plant varieties are suitable for this.

The benefits of avocados in the garden

Avocados are grown at home as an exotic plant, and in natural conditions - for business projects. Catering and restaurant businesses are happy to buy healthy fruits grown on steep coastal slopes (the avocado is surpassed only by the olive in terms of fat content!).

To speed up the fruiting of Persea, agricultural producers propagate it by air diverting. In early spring, cut off the bark on the side shoots in a ring no more than a centimeter wide, cover the damaged area with garden varnish and put a plastic bag without a bottom over the shoot. By wrapping the bag with twine below the cut point, you get a bag into which sphagnum moss or rotted, moistened peat is placed. The bag is tied with twine on the other side, and the contents are checked and moistened once a month. Rooting occurs on the plant. This method bears fruit the very next year.

Avocado mono-gardens do not like alien plants and can negatively affect them with their secretions. In indoor conditions, greenhouses and winter gardens, Persea gets along well with its neighbors, since its long roots do not bother anyone. For patient gardeners, it sometimes even blooms.

To achieve exo-fruits (through cross-pollination), you can try growing several avocados in the same pot by intertwining their trunks in a braid shape.

Avocado ( lat. Avocado) - the fruit of evergreen plants of the genus Perseus families Laurels (Lauraceae). Avocado pulp is rich in vitamins and important minerals.

The English common name for the plant and fruit is "alligator pear", which translated means - "alligator pear".

Avocado- a fast-growing tree, reaching a height of 10 - 20 m. The trunk is usually straight, highly branched. The leaves are elliptical, up to 20 cm long. They fall all year round. The flowers are inconspicuous, small, greenish, bisexual, located in the axils of the leaves. The fruit is pear-shaped, oval or spherical, 5-10 cm long, weighs 0.05-1.8 kg. The skin of the fruit is hard, dark green in unripe fruits, and turns black some time after ripening. The pulp of the ripe fruit is green or yellow-green in color, oily, and contains a lot of fat. There is a large seed in the center of the fruit.

There are about 400 varieties of avocados: from small ones (the size of a plum) to large ones - weighing up to one kilogram. Avocados are brought from Latin America, but recently they have begun to be grown in Africa and Israel. Among the new varieties you can find avocado fruits that are light green or dark purple. The shape of the fruit is also different - from apple to pear shape. The surface of the fruit can be mirror-smooth or highly wrinkled. In India, avocado is called the "poor man's cow." Avocado fruits contain up to 45% fatty oil, up to 30% unsaturated fatty acids, the amount of protein is 2-3 times higher than the protein content in apples, pears, citrus fruits, bananas and other fruits.

Avocado fruits are one of the most fat-containing fruits, second only to , and the lion's share of the fats included in their composition are healthy and easily digestible monounsaturated fatty acids. Therefore, despite its high calorie content, this fruit is a healthy dietary product.

Avocado is used to prepare salads, sauces and soups, it can be added to dairy products cocktails and baby formulas for nutrition. There are many ways to cut an avocado, but the simplest is the following: cut the avocado lengthwise, turning the knife around the pit, turn the cut halves in opposite directions - the fruit will split into two halves, and the pit will remain in one of them. The pit is easy to remove by picking it up with a spoon; the pulp is also easily separated from the skin with a spoon.

The pulp of a ripe avocado can simply be spread on bread and lightly salted; in South America it is used to make ice cream, and in Indonesia it is mixed with coffee, milk and rum into a cocktail!

Thanks to its neutral taste, avocado easily combines with many foods: ham, shrimp, crab sticks, boiled eggs, etc.

The pulp of a ripe avocado is used in cooking in cold dishes: salads, for example, in combination with red fish, cold appetizers, sandwiches. Lemon or lime juice is usually added to avoid oxidation, which spoils the appearance and taste of the avocado.

One of the most popular avocado dishes is the Mexican snack guacamole, which consists mainly of pureed avocado pulp with the addition of salt, lime juice, and sometimes seasonings and vegetables.

Avocado is used in vegetarian cuisine as a filling for vegetarian sushi, and as a substitute for meat and eggs in some cold dishes.

Several recipes using avocado

120 g rice, 200 ml vegetable broth, 1 can of canned corn, 150 g boiled or canned beans, 1 avocado, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tomatoes. Sauce: 3 tbsp. lemon juice, 3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil (corn), parsley, ½ chili pepper, salt, pepper.

Pour the boiling broth over the rice, let it simmer for a few minutes, stir, cover and reduce the heat to low. Leave the rice to cook for 20 minutes without opening the lid. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat, open the lid and carefully stir the rice with a fork to evaporate excess moisture. Let the rice cool. Rinse beans and corn with cold water and drain. Finely chop the chili pepper and parsley and mix with the remaining ingredients for the sauce. Peel the avocado, cut into cubes and immediately mix with lemon juice. Cut the tomatoes into small cubes. Gently mix all salad ingredients.

1 green salad, 2 avocados, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 4 medium tomatoes, 1 onion, 175 g canned beans from a can. Sauce: 4 tbsp. vegetable oil, 2 tbsp. wine vinegar, 1 clove of garlic (crush), salt, a pinch of sugar and hot red pepper, parsley for decoration.

Arrange the lettuce leaves in a salad bowl. Cut the avocado into thin slices and immediately sprinkle with lemon juice. Cut the tomatoes into slices and the onion into thin rings. Place chopped avocados, tomatoes and onion rings around the edges of the salad bowl, and place the beans in the center. Lightly whisk the ingredients for the sauce with a fork and pour the sauce over the salad, garnish with parsley on top.

Mexican guacamole sauce. 2 ripe avocados, 1 onion (finely chopped), 1 clove of garlic, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, 1 tbsp. vegetable oil, salt, pepper, tabasco.

This is an adapted recipe from a traditional Mexican sauce that dates back to the times of the Aztecs. Guacamole can be used as a seasoning for corn chips, spread on bread, etc.

Rub the sauce bowl with garlic. Take the avocado pulp out of the peel with a teaspoon and put it in a bowl, add the chopped onion and mix until smooth. Then add lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper and Tabasco and mix well again. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. Instead of lemon, you can use lime juice, and you can also add finely chopped tomato and cilantro to the sauce.

2 ripe avocados, 2 tbsp. lime or lemon juice, 350 ml of cooled chicken broth, 250 ml of cream (can be replaced with milk), salt and pepper to taste.

Mash the avocado pulp with a fork and mix with lemon juice. Combine the avocado pulp and broth in a blender, then pour in the cream or milk and blend the soup again. Season with salt and pepper.

100 g of avocado pulp contains:

Calorie content— 118-167 kcal

Water— 73 g
Fats— 15-30 g
Squirrels— 1.6 g-2.1 g
Carbohydrates– 6 g (including mono- and disaccharides – 5 g)
Dietary fiber (fiber)— 0.6 g
Ballast substances— 3.65 mg
Organic acids– 0.1 g
Potassium— 437.27 mg
Copper- 0.19 mg
Folic acid salts- 45.19 mcg
Vitamin K— 14.6 mg
Vitamin C- 5.77 mg
Vitamin B6— 0.2 mg

Vitamins in avocados:

Macronutrients in Avocado:

2nd option: 1 tbsp. Mix a spoonful of unrefined avocado oil with 1 tbsp. spoon of kernel oil (or peach kernel oil) and add 2 drops each of fennel, orange and mint essential oils to this mixture.

For a nourishing and moisturizing lip balm. Mix 1 teaspoon of unrefined avocado oil with 1 teaspoon of jojoba oil.

Nail care. To strengthen your nails and eliminate their fragility, you should massage the nail fold before applying nail polish for 15-20 minutes. For massage, a product prepared as follows is perfect: to 2 tbsp. Add 5 drops of lemon to a tablespoon of avocado oil, and 5 drops of rosemary, lavender and patchouli essential oils.